Auto sales in US jump 24% on rebound at recall-hit Toyota
By David Bailey and Bernie Woodall |
April 3, 2010, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
UNITED States auto sales jumped 24.3 percent in March, the strongest result in months, led by a rebound at recall-hit Toyota Motor Corp, which offered record incentives aimed at putting the crisis behind it.
Toyota sales jumped nearly 41 percent in March, snapping two months of sales declines amid massive vehicle recalls and a rare production and sales halt for the world's biggest auto maker.
General Motors sales rose nearly 21 percent overall from a year earlier, and it led the industry in total vehicle sales. Toyota was second in total sales, while Ford Motor Co ranked third after a nearly 40 percent sales increase.
US sales topped the 1-million-vehicle mark in March, which was the strongest monthly result since September 2008, excluding August 2009 when "cash for clunkers" incentives drove sales up sharply.
The strength in the US was also reflected in sales in Europe and Asia, as temporary government scrapping schemes boosted demand.
Industry executives attributed the US sales rebound in part to incentives, pent-up demand from February when snowstorms hit many areas, to a subsiding of headlines on Toyota and some signs of US economic stability.
The US sales increase contrasts with March 2009 when the industry was mired in a deep US sales downturn ahead of bankruptcies by GM and Chrysler.
Only Chrysler among the largest auto makers posted a US sales decline in March. Chrysler said sales fell 8.3 percent in March from a year earlier and it planned incentives.
"Retail sales were really artificially inflated by huge incentives going on in the marketplace and did not reflect true demand," Edmunds.com Director of Industry Analysis Jessica Caldwell said, adding that April would be a better indicator.
Toyota traditionally has spurned deep discounts, but launched unprecedented incentives in March to try to win back customers, including zero percent financing for five years on top models such as the Camry sedan.
Don Esmond, Toyota US senior vice president for sales, said on a conference call that incentives would be extended beyond Monday, but offered no specifics.
Toyota sales jumped nearly 41 percent in March, snapping two months of sales declines amid massive vehicle recalls and a rare production and sales halt for the world's biggest auto maker.
General Motors sales rose nearly 21 percent overall from a year earlier, and it led the industry in total vehicle sales. Toyota was second in total sales, while Ford Motor Co ranked third after a nearly 40 percent sales increase.
US sales topped the 1-million-vehicle mark in March, which was the strongest monthly result since September 2008, excluding August 2009 when "cash for clunkers" incentives drove sales up sharply.
The strength in the US was also reflected in sales in Europe and Asia, as temporary government scrapping schemes boosted demand.
Industry executives attributed the US sales rebound in part to incentives, pent-up demand from February when snowstorms hit many areas, to a subsiding of headlines on Toyota and some signs of US economic stability.
The US sales increase contrasts with March 2009 when the industry was mired in a deep US sales downturn ahead of bankruptcies by GM and Chrysler.
Only Chrysler among the largest auto makers posted a US sales decline in March. Chrysler said sales fell 8.3 percent in March from a year earlier and it planned incentives.
"Retail sales were really artificially inflated by huge incentives going on in the marketplace and did not reflect true demand," Edmunds.com Director of Industry Analysis Jessica Caldwell said, adding that April would be a better indicator.
Toyota traditionally has spurned deep discounts, but launched unprecedented incentives in March to try to win back customers, including zero percent financing for five years on top models such as the Camry sedan.
Don Esmond, Toyota US senior vice president for sales, said on a conference call that incentives would be extended beyond Monday, but offered no specifics.
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